Wing control for flying machines and safety device therefor



April 14, 1925. 1,533,786

D. W. BON N ELL WING CONTROL FOR FLYING MACHINES AND SAFETY DEVICETHEREFOR Filed Jan. 24. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS.

INVENTOR:\

BY I

April 14, 1925. 1,533,786

D. W. BON NELL WING CONTROL FOR FLYING MACHINES AND SAFETY DEVICETHEREFOR Filed Jan. 24. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

'April 14, 1925. 1,533,786

D. W. BONNELL WING CONTROL FOR FLYING MACHINES AND SAFETY DEVICE}THEREFOR Filed Jan. 24 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR:

f ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 14, 1925. I

UNITED STATES DANIEL W. BONNELL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WING CONTROL FOR FLYING MACHINES AND SAFETY DEVICE THEREFOR.

Application filed January 24, 1923. Serial No. 614,511.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL 1V. BONNELL, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful \Ving Control for Flying Machines andSafety Devices Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel construction of a flying machine andmore particularly to the actuation of the wings thereof which aremounted on the body of the machine for movement after the manner of thewings of a bird, and a novel gate, cross head, or wing actuating device,and comprises a novel construction of frame, gate, cross head, or wingactuating device and a novel construction of a support or guidetherefor, said cross head serving as a wing control and being providedwith lateral slots by which the inner ends of the arms carrying thewings are actuated, means being pro vided for reciprocating said crosshead or wing control by a connecting rod connected to the crank or flywheel of an internal combustion engine or other motor, whereby themachine will rise directly from the ground.

It further consists of a novel manner of assembling and actuating thecross head or wing actuating device and the inner ends of the arms whichsupport the wings.

It further consists of a novel construction of wings.

It further consists of a novel construction of a safety device securedto the floor of the flying machine, and means for instantly causing thesame to open when desired.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all as willbe hereinafter fully set forth.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a flying machine embodying myinvention, the safety device being shown closed and the wings beingshown in the upward position.

Figure 2 represents a plan view of Figure 1, certain of the parts seenin Figure 1 being omitted for the sake of clearness of illustration.

Figure 3 represents a front elevation of the reciprocating gate. crosshead or wing control device.

Figure 4 represents a plan view of one of the wings in detachedposition.

Figure 5 represents a section on line 5-5 Figure 4.

Figure 6 represents a side elevation of a safety device detached fromthe flying machine and in open position.

Figure 7 represents on an enlarged scale a detail view of theupper-portion of the safety device to be hereafter referred to.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

1 designates my novel construction of flying machine. the samecomprising a suitable frame work or light skeleton frame, composed ofthe base member or floor 2, and the outer side wing supports 3, throughthe upper ends of which pass the bolts 4, said bolts passing alsothrough the arms 5 of the wings 6 at the points 7 see Figure 4. The arms5 are preferably constructed of channel beams or U shape in crosssection. The inner ends of the wing arms 5 are slotted or bifurcated asindicated at 8, and within the forks of said arms, I locate the lowerouter portions 9 of the frame, cross head or wing control 10.

The lower outer ends of'the cross head 10 are provided with theelongated horizontal or lateral slots 11 and the connection between eachof the wing arms 5 and said slots is made bymeans of the bolt 12, whichcarries the friction roller 13, see Figure 4, it

being understood that said roller is reciprocated in the slot 11 in thecross head 10,-as the latter is moved up and down, so that friction isreduced to a minimum. The cross head 10 is I provided at its sides withthe T shaped parallel upright guides 14 (see Figure 2) which are guidedin the similarly shaped ways in the uprights 15 (see Figures 1 and 2)said ways 15 being supported at their bottom ends upon the base member.or floor 2, and being tied together at their upper ends by the crosspiece 16, so that a very firm and rigid guide structure for the wingcontrol is produced.

The gate, cross head or wing control 10 is reciprocated by means of theconnecting rod 19, whose upper end is connected to said cross head bv apin 20, which passes through the hole or hearing 21 in the lower member16 of the cross head, the lower end of said connecting rod'beingconnected by the crank pin 22 to the fly wheel or disc 23, which ismounted on the shaft 24, which is rotated by a gasoline motor or aninternal combustion engine of any conventional or standard type (notshown).

It is well known that in a device of this i character, it is essentialthat the frame work be as light as possible, so that a minimum of weightas well as a maximum of strength is obtained, and it is also desirablethat the movements of the parts and the friction therebetween also bereduced to a minimum.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that the number of partscomposing my invention is reduced to a minimum, since I merely employthe skeleton frame composed of the base or floor member 2, outer wingsupports 3 and the inneruprights or guides 15, which are secured attheir" lower ends to the floor 2 and tied together at their up- My novelsafety device 30, which is shown in closed position in Figure l and inopen position in Figure 6, comprises the hollow rod or tube 31, whoselower end may pass through the floor 2 at one side of the Wing by thehook 37 of the trigger 38, which is fulcrumed at 39 to the fixed collar34, and

per en y the p C ss piece '16. The cross\terminates at its lower end inthe handle 40,

head or wing control 10 is also designed so as c to give a maximum ofstrength with a minimum of weight.

v It will be apparent that the engine shaft 24 and the crank disc or flywheel 23are rotated as a unit and that the throw of the connecting rod19 will cause the cross head or wing control 10 to reciprocate. from theposition seen in full lines in Figure 1 to the position seen in dottedlines in said figure, whereupon the wings 6 will be continuouslyoscillated in such a manner as to simulate the flying of a bird, theiroscillation being caused by the continuously rotating mecha nism havinga connection therewith.

I have deemed it unnecessary to show or describe in detail the fuselageor the seats for the operator or the steering mechanism, as it will beevident that these elements may be constructed and arranged inaccordance with any approved or conventional design, and the wingsupports 3 may be braced or reinforced wlth respect to the floor 2 andthe uprights 15 in any suitable manner.

It will be understood that the frame-work, wing control and theiradjuncts may be constructed of any suitable light metal, as aluminum orthe like and the outer frame work of the wings 6 is also preferably madeof light tubing or preferably, channel beams,

, as will be understood from Figure 4.

The front, bottom and side of each wing is concave interiorly whichconcavity tapers to an almost straight or flat surface at the outerbottom side, andthe frame of the wings is further braced and reinforcedby the longitudinal side channel beams 26*, which are arranged at eachside of the arm 5, and tied together at their outer ends by thetransverse outer channel beam 27*.

The wing frame is further reinforced by the diagonal channel beams 28",all the chan nel beams being preferably of aluminum or the like, and thewhole structurebeing covered with canvas, silk or the like.

which is within the convenient reach of the operator. Above the runner36 is the upper fixed collar 41 held in position by the set screw 42.

43 designates a lower springinterposed between the collar 34 and therunner 36 and 44 designates an upper spring interposed between the topof the runner 36 and the upper fixed collar 41. 45 designates thestretchers common to the runner 36 and the ribs 46, which latter carrythe cover 47; The upper spring 44 has one end attached tothe runner asindicated at 48, see Figure 7, and its upperend is attached to the fixedcollar 41, as indicated at 49 (see Figure 6). The rod 31 is preferablyhollow, and has the slot 50 therein, see Figure 7 through whichprotrudes the catch 51, which is pivotally supported at 52 and isnormally pressed outwardly by the spring 53 (see Figure 7 so that whenthe runner 36 is in its upper position, the catch will engage it andkeep the parts in the open position seen in Figure 6 in full lines.

It will be apparent that when the safety device is closed, it willappear as seen in Figure 1, and when the handle 40 is actuated, thetrigger will appear as seen in Figure 6, and due to the expanding actionof the lower spring 43 and the contractile action of the upper spring44, the parts will instantly open into the position seen in full linesin Figure 6, it being evident that it is essential for the safety deviceto operate instantaneously when its use becomes necesary.

The rod 31 of the safety device and the upper portion of the mechanismthereof are positioned at one side of the wing operating mechanism atsuch a point as not to affect the center of gravity of the machine.

It will be apparent that the safety device seen in Figures 1 to 6 can bereadily removed from the machine when it is desired to store the latterby taking off the bolts 32 and 33.

It will be understood that the tube, ribs and the trigger of said safetydevice are preferably made of duralumin; thesprings are made of steel;the covering may be canlit vas, aluminum or silk; the cables or ropes onthe edge of the edge of the cover may be made of twisted stnands ofduralumin or plain hemp rope.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful wingcontrol for flying machines which embodies the features of advantageenumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the abovedescription, and while I have, in the present instance, shownanddescribed a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practicesatisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that suchembodiment is susceptible of modification in various particulars withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing anyof its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure b Letters Patent, is a 1. In a flying machine, a framework,composed of a floor and outer wing supports, wings having arms pivotallymounted in the upper portion of said supports, inner uprights mounted onsaid floor and provided with vertically extending ways, a cross headhaving a plurality of vertical T-shaped guides thereon engagingsimilarly shaped vertical slots in said ways, horizontal slots in thelower outer portions of said cross head, connections common to the innerends of said arms and said slots and means for actuating said cross headup and down to oscillate said wings.

2. In a flying machine, a framework, composed of a floor and outer wingsupports, wings having arms pivotally mounted in the upper portion ofsaid supports, inner uprights mounted on said floor and provided withvertically extending T shaped ways, a cross head havingT shaped verticalguides thereon engaging similarly shaped slots in said ways, horizontalslots in the lower outer portions of said cross head, pivotalconnections common to the inner ends of said arms and said slots, andmeans for reciprocating said cross head to oscillate said wings, saidmeans comprising an engine shaft, a fly wheel mounted thereon and aconnecting rod eccentrically connected at its lower end to said flywheel and pivotally connected at its other-end to said cross head.

3. In a flying machine, a'framework comprising a floor and outer wingsupports, wings having channelled arms pivotally mounted in the upperends of said supports, a wing control device, comprising a frame, havinghorizontal top and bottom members and upwardly converging sides, andhaving horizontal slots in its lower portions, connections common to theinner nds of said arms and said slots, inner vertical uprights providedwith T-shaped ways, T shaped vertical guides mounted on said frame, anengine shaft, a flywheel mounted on said shaft and a connecting rodhaving its lower end eccentrically connected to said fly wheel and itsupper end pivotally connected to the lower portion of said frame.

4. In a flying machine, upright parallel T shaped ways, a cross headhaving parallel vertical T shaped guides, lateral slots in the lowerportion of said cross head, wing arms pivotally supported and forked attheir inner ends, antifriction rollers in said slots, bolts passingthrough said rollers and the ends of said wing arms, an engine shafthaving a fly wheel thereon, and a connecting rod common to said flywheel and cross head.

5. A wing for a flying machine composed of an outer channelled frame, acentral longitudinal arm composed of a light channel beam extendinglongitudinally of said frame, transverse channel beams secured to saidframe and central arm, side longitudinally extending channel beams alsosecured to said'transverse channel beams, and diagonal channel beamssecured to the outer wing frame and a cover for the latter.

6. A wing for a flying machine composed of an outer pivotally supportedframe, a central arm composed of a light channel beam extendinglongitudinally of said frame, transverse channel beams secured to saidcentral arm and outer frame, side longitudinally extending channel beamsalso secured'to said transverse beams, diagonal channel beams secured tothe outer wing frame, a cover for said wing, the latter being concavedon its under side, and said. central arm having a fork at its outer endadapted to be connected with a vertically moving cross head. f

DANIEL W. BONNELL.

Witnesses:

k C. D. MOVAY,

E. LEAH FARLEY.

